Semiconductor device and method of forming a semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

A power semiconductor device has an active region that includes a drift region. At least a portion of the drift region is provided in a membrane which has opposed top and bottom surfaces. In one embodiment, the top surface of the membrane has electrical terminals connected directly or indirectly thereto to allow a voltage to be applied laterally across the drift region. In another embodiment, at least one electrical terminal is connected directly or indirectly to the top surface and at least one electrical terminal is connected directly or indirectly to the bottom surface to allow a voltage to be applied vertically across the drift region. In each of these embodiments, the bottom surface of the membrane does not have a semiconductor substrate positioned adjacent thereto.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/694,736, filed Oct. 29, 2003, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/957,547, filed Sep. 21,2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,684, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/234,219, filed Sep. 21, 2000.

This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/694,735, filed Oct. 29, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,703,684. Thecontents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and to a methodof forming a semiconductor device.

The present invention is particularly concerned with high voltage/powersemiconductor devices which can be used as discrete devices, in hybridcircuits and in power integrated circuits and is particularly concernedwith field-effect transistors, such as power MOSFETs, insulated gatebipolar transistors (IGBTs) and other types of power devices such asdiodes, transistors and thyristors.

For devices designed for use in integrated circuits, it is preferredthat the main terminals (variously called the anode/cathode,drain/source and emitter/collector) and the control terminals (termedthe gate or base) are placed at the surface of the device in order to beeasily accessible. The main current flow is between the main accessible.The main current flow is between the main terminals and is thereforeprincipally lateral. Such devices are therefore typically referred to aslateral devices. Such devices are often integrated with low-voltagedevices or circuits built in CMOS-type or other standard planartechnologies to form power integrated circuits. Several highvoltage/power devices may be integrated in the same chip. Isolation isprovided between the high-power and the low-power devices as well asbetween adjacent power devices. Two principal isolation technologieshave emerged, namely junction-isolation (JI) technology andsilicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology.

In JI technology, a reverse-biased junction is used to isolate adjacentdevices. However, this is in many cases not satisfactory for powerintegrated circuits since minority carrier conduction through thesemiconductor substrate (on which the active part of the device isformed) can take place and interference between adjacent devices istherefore difficult to prevent. In addition, JI bipolar devices (such asthe lateral IGBT) also suffer from parasitic mobile carrier plasmastored in the semiconductor substrate in the on-state which has to beremoved during turn-off. This decreases dramatically the switching speedof the devices.

In SOI technology, a buried insulating layer is used to isolatevertically the top semiconductor layer from the bottom semiconductorlayer and, accordingly, current conduction is principally restricted tothe top semiconductor layer and there is practically no current in thebottom semiconductor layer in any mode of operation. Horizontal orlateral isolation in SOI is typically provided via trenches which arefilled with oxide or by use of the known LOCOS (“local oxidation ofsilicon”) isolation. SOI technology offers better isolation than JItechnology because the buried insulating layer prevents currentconduction and plasma formation in the substrate.

High voltage semiconductor devices have incorporated within the body ofthe device a high voltage junction that is responsible for blocking thevoltage. This junction includes a relatively lowly doped semiconductorlayer which withstands the largest portion of the voltage across themain terminals when the device is in the off-state and operating in thevoltage blocking mode. This layer is commonly referred to as the driftregion or layer and is partially or fully depleted of minority carriersduring this operating mode. Ideally, the potential is equallydistributed along the drift region between the two ends of the driftregion. However, as shown by the 1-D Poisson equation, for a givendoping of the drift region, the distribution of the electric field has atriangular shape or, when fully depleted, a trapezoidal shape. Since thearea underneath the electric field can be approximated as the breakdownvoltage when the peak of the electric field reaches the criticalelectric field in the semiconductor, it is obvious that for a 1-Djunction, the lower the doping of the drift layer, the higher thebreakdown voltage. However, for majority carrier devices such as MOSFETtypes, known as LDMOSFETs, the on-state resistance of the drift layer isinversely proportional to the doping of the drift layer. Since a lowon-resistance is desired for a high voltage switch, it follows that alow doping concentration affects the on-state performance of the device.In addition for lateral devices, the critical electric field at thesurface is smaller than in the bulk, adding further difficulties indesigning high voltage lateral devices.

The introduction of the RESURF (Reduced Surface Field Effect) techniquefor JI devices allows an increase in the breakdown voltage of lateraldevices through the use of an additional vertical junction formedbetween the drift region and the semiconductor substrate. FIG. 1 a showsschematically a conventional JI diode using the RESURF effect. Thisdiode is provided as part of a conventional lateral power device such asa lateral transistor, LDMOSFET or LIGBT. FIG. 1 a also shows thedistribution of the potential lines and the edge of the depletion regionduring the voltage blocking mode. It can be noted that the drift layer 1is fully depleted but the semiconductor substrate 2 is not fullydepleted. The potential lines bend as they drop in the substrate, fromthe vertical direction towards the horizontal direction, such that belowthe high voltage terminal 3, the potential lines are practicallyparallel to the bottom surface 4 of the substrate 2. This is because thethickness of the semiconductor substrate 2 is relatively large(typically 300 μm) compared to the vertical extension of the depletionregion from the top surface 5 into the substrate 2 (typically 60 μm fora 600V device). Hence, the semiconductor substrate 2 is not fullydepleted when the breakdown of the device occurs. It is known that alateral JI diode can achieve breakdown voltages equivalent to those ofvertical diodes, in spite of the reduced surface critical electricfield. Nevertheless, as shown in FIG. 1 a, even an optimised electricfield distribution using the RESURF concept is far from being ideal(i.e. rectangular in shape). In addition as already mentioned, the JIdevices suffer from high leakage currents and very poor isolation, whichmakes integration within a power integrated circuit very difficult.

FIG. 1 b shows a conventional SOI diode which is typically found as partof a SOI lateral high voltage power device. The structure can be madeusing the known wafer bonding, Unibond or SIMOX SOI technologies. Othertechnologies such as Silicon-on-Diamond (SOD) are also known. FIG. 1 balso shows the equi-potential line distribution during the voltageblocking mode. It can be seen that the potential lines crowd towards theedges of the drift layer 1, resulting in a poor RESURF effect.Increasing the thickness of the buried oxide 6 helps to redistribute thepotential lines more evenly at the top surface 5. However, in general,the breakdown voltage is still below that of a JI device or JI diode asshown in FIG. 1 a. Again, the potential lines in the drift layer 1 andthe buried silicon oxide insulating layer 6 below the high voltageterminal are practically aligned to the horizontal surface. This is dueto the fact that the semiconductor substrate 2 is not entirely depleted.The result is that all the potential lines have to crowd into the driftlayer 1 and insulating layer 6 in the case of SOI and moreover have toalign parallel to the insulating layer 6/semiconductor substrate 2interface. This creates an uneven distribution of the potential lines atthe top surface 5 which results in high electric field peaks andtherefore lower breakdown voltages. In addition, for SOI devices, theconservation of the perpendicular component of the electric flux densityD=εE at the top of the semiconductor layer 1/buried oxide 6 interfacelimits the maximum voltage that the buried oxide 6 can sustain beforethe critical electric field in the semiconductor layer 1 at theinterface is reached. This vertical breakdown yields a very stronglimitation on the maximum voltage rating achievable for a given buriedoxide thickness.

Thus, in summary, in both JI and SOI devices, the potential lines haveto bend from a vertical orientation to a horizontal or lateralorientation and the potential distribution in the drift layer is farfrom ideal.

Moreover, when a power integrated circuit made in thin SOI technologycomprises at least a half-bridge configuration, which involves two powerdevices operating in different modes, the device operating in the highside mode may suffer from pinch-off of the drift region during theon-state. This is due to the high electric field in the drift regioncaused by the high negative potential created in the semiconductorsubstrate with respect to the potential of one of the main terminals ofthe high-side device.

It is therefore apparent that the semiconductor substrate in the SOItechnology is not passive in all operation modes and its presenceresults in a poor distribution of the potential lines during the voltageblocking mode, which may cause premature breakdown commonly at thesurface of the semiconductor or at the buried oxide/top semiconductorinterface due to vertical breakdown. The JI approach suffers from verypoor isolation within the power integrated circuit and the breakdownvoltage, although generally higher than in the SOI devices, is stilllower than would be preferred.

For discrete devices or hybrid circuits used in high voltage or powerelectronics, it is preferred that the main terminals have a verticalorientation and are placed at opposite sides of the wafer (e.g. with thelow voltage terminal at the top and the high voltage terminal at thebottom). These devices are referred to as vertical high voltage/powerdevices. Compared to lateral devices, the current flow between the mainterminals is principally vertical and this results in a larger currentcapability and a higher breakdown voltage. Such devices are howeverdifficult to use in integrated circuits. Example of known highvoltage/power devices are DMOS & Trench MOSFETs, DMOS & Trench IGBTs andCool MOS.

For an optimised trade-off between on-state/switching/breakdownperformance, the vertical devices require a narrow drift region that ispreferably fully depleted at full voltage blocking. Such a layer mayhave a thickness from 6 μm to 180 μm for devices rated from 50 V to 1.2kV. Commonly the drift layer lies on a highly doped semiconductorsubstrate. The semiconductor substrate however introduces a series ofnegative effects on the general performance of the device. First, itintroduces a parasitic resistance, which leads to increased on-statepower losses. Secondly, for bipolar devices with anode injection such asIGBTs, since the doping of the substrate is high, to reduce the powerlosses in the substrate resistance, the injection from the substratewhich acts as the anode (emitter) of the device is in most cases toostrong, leading to high transient switching losses and slow turn-off dueto the a large amount of plasma stored inside the drift region duringon-state. Thirdly, the substrate introduces a thermal resistance whichprevents effective dissipation of heat to an external sink placed at thebottom of the device. Finally, if vertical devices are to be used inintegrated circuits, the presence of the thick semiconductor substratemakes isolation between adjacent devices very difficult.

There have been numerous prior proposals for increasing the breakdownvoltage of semiconductor devices, particularly power semiconductordevices. Examples are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,210, U.S. Pat.No. 5,373,183, U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,920, U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,316, U.S.Pat. No. 5,434,444, U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,243, U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,982,U.S. Pat. No. 5,631,491, U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,617, and U.S. Pat. No.6,069,396. However, none of these prior art proposals has tackled theproblem of increasing the breakdown voltage by a detailed considerationof the electric potential lines in the drift region.

In WO-A-98/32009, there is disclosed a gas-sensing semiconductor device.A gas-sensitive layer is formed over a MOSFET heater which is used toheat the gas-sensitive layer. The substrate on which the device isformed is back-etched to form a thin membrane in the sensing area. Itshould be noted that the MOSFET heater is a low voltage device (and assuch does not have a drift region) and, furthermore, the thin membraneis formed below the MOSFET heater solely to facilitate heating of thesensing area to very high temperatures and not to affect the field orpotential lines in the device.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,972 discloses a method and apparatus for cooling asemiconductor device during the testing and debugging phases duringdevelopment of a device. In place of conventional heat slugs such ascopper, a heat slug of material that is transparent to infra red isfixed to the device. A diamond heat slug is disclosed as preferred. Itis disclosed that the substrate on which the device is formed can bethinned prior to applying the infra red transparent heat slug to thedevice. The purpose of this thinning of the substrate is to reducetransmission losses that occur during optical testing and debugging ofthe device using infra red beams. There is no discussion of the type ofsemiconductor device to which the heat slug is applied and there is nodisclosure that the device is a power device having a drift region.Moreover, as stated, the purpose of the thinning of the substrate andapplication of the heat slug is solely to facilitate testing of thedevice using optical testing and debugging. This process is carried outduring development of the device. The heat slug is not used duringnormal operation of the device.

There have been a number of proposals in the prior art for semiconductordevices which make use of a so-called membrane. Examples include U.S.Pat. No. 5,420,458, WO-A-94/22167, U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,992 and U.S. Pat.No. 6,008,126. In the case of each of these prior art proposals, thesemiconductor device is not a power device and thus does not have adrift region. In each case, the membrane arrangement is used to providefor isolation between semiconductor devices in an integrated circuit orbetween regions within a semiconductor device and/or to remove or lowercoupling parasitic capacitances. In each case, since these are lowvoltage devices, the breakdown voltage is virtually unaffected by themembrane structure.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda power semiconductor device having an active region that includes adrift region, at least a portion of the drift region being provided in amembrane having opposed top and bottom surfaces, the top surface of themembrane having electrical terminals connected directly or indirectlythereto to allow a voltage to be applied laterally across the driftregion, the bottom surface of the membrane not having a semiconductorsubstrate positioned adjacent thereto.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda power semiconductor device having an active region that includes adrift region provided in a layer, the layer being provided on asemiconductor substrate, at least a portion of the semiconductorsubstrate below at least a portion of the drift region being removedsuch that said at least a portion of the drift region is provided in amembrane defined by that portion of the layer below which thesemiconductor substrate has been removed, the top surface of themembrane having electrical terminals connected directly or indirectlythereto to allow a voltage to be applied laterally across the driftregion.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda power semiconductor device having an active region that includes adrift region, at least a portion of the drift region being provided in amembrane having opposed top and bottom surfaces, at least one electricalterminal connected directly or indirectly to the top surface and atleast one electrical terminal connected directly or indirectly to thebottom surface to allow a voltage to be applied vertically across thedrift region, the bottom surface of the membrane not having asemiconductor substrate positioned adjacent thereto.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda power semiconductor device having an active region that includes adrift region provided in a layer, the layer being provided on asemiconductor substrate, at least a portion of the semiconductorsubstrate below at least a portion of the drift region being removedsuch that said at least a portion of the drift region is provided in amembrane defined by that portion of the layer below which thesemiconductor substrate has been removed, and at least one electricalterminal connected directly or indirectly to the top surface and atleast one electrical terminal connected directly or indirectly to thebottom surface to allow a voltage to be applied vertically across thedrift region.

The said at least a portion of the drift region is fully orsubstantially fully depleted of mobile charge carriers when a voltage isapplied across terminals of the device. In the first and second aspectsof the present invention, the potential lines in said at least a portionof the drift region are substantially perpendicular to the top andbottom surfaces of the membrane and substantially uniformly spreadlaterally across said at least a portion of the drift region. This isturn leads to a higher breakdown voltage which may approach the ideal ortheoretical limit. In the third and fourth aspects, the potential linesin said at least a portion of the drift region are substantiallyparallel to the top and bottom surfaces of the membrane andsubstantially uniformly spaced vertically across said at least a portionof the drift region.

Thus, in the preferred embodiments, the absence of the semiconductorsubstrate under at least a portion of the depletion region in lateraldevices leads to enhanced breakdown ability due to a more favourableelectric field and potential distribution within the drift region of thepower device. For vertical devices, the absence of the semiconductorsubstrate allows the formation of a thin drift region and removesparasitic effects such as the parasitic series electrical resistance andsubstrate thermal resistance.

Power devices typically operate with a voltage in the range 30V to 1.2kV and a current in the range 100 mA to 50 A. Their application mayrange from domestic appliances, electric cars, motor control, and powersupplies to RF and microwave circuits and telecommunication systems.

It will be appreciated that the terms “top” and “bottom”, “above” and“below”, and “lateral” and “vertical”, are all used in thisspecification by convention and that no particular physical orientationof the device as a whole is implied.

The so-called membrane power device of the present invention may be ofmany different types, including for example a diode, a transistor, athyristor, a MOS controllable device such as a MOSFET, an insulated gatebipolar transistor (IGBT), a double gate device, etc.

In the preferred embodiments discussed further below, there is provideda high voltage, power device with high breakdown voltage capacitycoupled with excellent isolation and reduced self-heating.

The arrangement may be such that only part of the drift region isprovided in the membrane.

In the first and second aspects, where only a part of the drift regionis provided in the membrane, preferably the high voltage terminal end ofthe drift region is contained within the membrane; the remainder of thedrift region, including the low voltage terminal end, may remain outsidethe membrane.

In the third and fourth aspects, the device edge termination may beprovided outside the membrane while the active region which includespart of the drift region is provided within the membrane.

In any aspect, the whole of the drift region may be provided in themembrane.

At least one isolation layer may surround the drift region. The at leastone isolation layer may be provided in said membrane or in a separatemembrane to extend from the top surface of the membrane to the bottomsurface of the membrane.

At least one isolation layer may surround the drift region and beprovided outside the membrane.

The or at least one isolation layer may be provided by electricallyinsulating material. The or at least one isolation layer may be providedby a highly doped semiconductor layer which in use is biased to providea junction that is reverse-biased or biased below the forward-biaslevel.

There may be provided at least one additional power device having adrift region at least a portion of which is provided on said membrane oron a separate membrane. The separate membrane is preferably formed overthe same original substrate and preferably in the same fabrication stepwith the or each other membrane provided in the device.

There may be provided at least one low voltage device. Said at least onelow voltage device may be provided in said membrane. Alternatively, saidat least one low voltage device may be provided outside said membrane.In that case, said at least one low voltage device may be provided in afurther membrane, said further membrane being preferably formed over thesame original substrate and preferably within the same fabrication stepwith the other membranes provided in the device. In either case, thisarrangement provides a power integrated circuit. The low voltage deviceor devices may be for example a bipolar or CMOS circuit. Such lowvoltage power devices may form driving, protection or processingcircuits. In the preferred embodiments discussed below, the membranepower devices are well isolated both vertically and laterally from suchlow voltage devices. The vertical isolation is achieved by virtue of theabsence of the parasitic substrate beneath the active region of thepower device. Lateral isolation can be achieved as briefly describedabove by one or more isolation layers provided preferably in a membranefrom the top to the bottom surface of the membrane or outside themembrane.

There may be at least one isolation layer providing electrical isolationbetween adjacent devices. The said isolation layer may be placed on afurther membrane, said further membrane preferably being formed over thesame original substrate and preferably within the same fabrication stepwith the or each other membrane provided in the device.

In the first and second aspect of the present invention, the device maycomprise an electrically insulating and thermally conductive layeradjacent to the bottom surface of the membrane. The electricallyinsulating and thermally conductive layer is used to help remove a largepart of the heat that might otherwise be trapped within the membranewhen the power device is operating. The layer may be of any suitablematerial such as for example polycrystalline diamond, amorphous diamond,boron nitride, aluminium oxide, etc. The material is preferably formedby blanket deposition as a layer by sputtering or chemical vapordeposition or any other suitable technique. The layer may entirely fillthe space under the membrane or may be provided as a thin layer underthe membrane and which follows the side walls and the bottom surface ofany remaining substrate. The layer is preferably in thermal contact witha heat sink.

In the third and fourth aspects, the bottom terminal may be electricallyand thermally conductive. The bottom terminal may be made of a metal ora combination of metals such as aluminium, copper etc. The bottomterminal may fill the space under the membrane. In a preferredembodiment, the bottom terminal is provided as a thin layer under themembrane that follows down side walls of any remaining substrate andunder the main bottom surface of the device. This layer is preferably inthermal contact with an external heat sink. Alternatively, more than onebottom terminal, in the form of thin layers isolated from one another,can be placed at the bottom of one or separate membranes.

The membrane may comprise a semiconductor layer provided on anelectrically insulating layer. The electrically insulating layer may bean oxide layer as formed in for example known SOI technology. Wheresubstrate is etched away to form the membrane, such an oxide layerconveniently acts as an etch stop, which assists in the formation of themembrane. In the third and fourth aspects, this layer is removed toprovide access for the terminal layer to be provided at the bottom.

In the first and second aspects, the device may comprise a mechanicallystrong and electrically insulating layer provided under the membrane.The mechanically strong and electrically insulating layer providesstructural support to the membrane and also acts to minimise the risk ofmembrane rupture.

In any aspect, the drift region may have a non-uniform doping profile.This helps to ensure that the potential lines in the drift region aresubstantially uniformly spread across the drift region. This is turnleads to a higher breakdown voltage which may approach the ideal ortheoretical limit. The doping concentration of the drift region at ahigh voltage terminal side of the device is preferably relatively highand the doping concentration of the drift region at a low voltageterminal side of the device is preferably relatively low. The dopingconcentration of the drift region may vary linearly from one side of thedrift region to the other. This serves to improve further the breakdowncapability of the device.

In the first and second aspects, the drift region may comprise at leasttwo semiconductor layers of alternating conductivity type arranged oneabove the other and in contact with each other. In use, these two ormore semiconductor layers of alternating conductivity type provide asemiconductor junction in a vertical direction such that the driftregion can be fully depleted of mobile charge carriers when a voltage isapplied across terminals of the device. This again helps to ensure thatthe potential lines in said at least a portion of the drift region aresubstantially perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces of themembrane and substantially uniformly spread laterally across said atleast a portion of the drift region. This is turn leads to a higherbreakdown voltage which may approach the ideal or theoretical limit.

In any aspect, the drift region may comprise a plurality of laterallyadjacent semiconductor regions of alternating conductivity type. Theselaterally adjacent semiconductor regions of alternating conductivitytype form plural transverse junctions in the “z” direction of thedevice, which again helps to ensure that the potential lines in said atleast a portion of the drift region are substantially uniformly spreadacross said at least a portion of the drift region. This is turn leadsto a higher breakdown voltage which may approach the ideal ortheoretical limit.

In any aspect, the drift region may comprise a plurality of laterallyadjacent semiconductor cells of alternating conductivity type arrayedaround the plane of the device. The cells may be arranged in a regularor an irregular pattern. Either arrangement again helps to ensure thatthe potential lines in said at least a portion of the drift region aresubstantially uniformly spread across said at least a portion of thedrift region. This in turn leads to a higher breakdown voltage which mayapproach the ideal or theoretical limit.

The device may comprise a termination region adjacent to and in contactwith the drift region, said termination region being provided to reducethe effect of premature breakdown at the edge of the drift region. Atleast a portion of the said termination region may be placed inside themembrane. At least a portion of the said termination region may beplaced outside the membrane and above any semiconductor substrate. Thedrift region may be more highly doped than at least a portion of thetermination region. The drift region may be more highly doped than thesemiconductor substrate.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of forming a power semiconductor device having an active regionthat includes a drift region, the method comprising the steps of:forming, in a layer provided on a semiconductor substrate, a powersemiconductor device having an active region that includes a driftregion; and, removing at least a portion of the semiconductor substratebelow at least a portion of the drift region such that said at least aportion of the drift region is provided in a membrane defined by thatportion of the layer below which the semiconductor substrate has beenremoved.

It is preferred that the substrate be removed as the last or one of thelast steps in the device fabrication process. In that way, the substrateprovides support for the device for as long as possible during thefabrication process.

Said at least a portion of the semiconductor substrate may be removed bywet etching.

Said at least a portion of the semiconductor substrate may be removed bydry etching.

Said at least a portion of the semiconductor substrate may be removedusing a buried insulating layer as an etch stop. The burial layer may bepart of a Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) structure.

At least one semiconductor layer may be introduced by implantation,diffusion or deposition from the back-side of the device following theformation of the membrane.

A bottom terminal layer may be applied to the bottom of the membrane,said bottom terminal layer being in contact with at least onesemiconductor layer within the membrane.

The method may comprise applying an electrically insulating andthermally conductive layer adjacent the bottom surface of the membrane.The electrically insulating and thermally conductive layer may beapplied by a (preferably blanket) deposition process.

Alternatively the method may comprise applying an electrically andthermally conductive layer which acts as an electrode (terminal)adjacent the bottom surface of the membrane. The layer may be applied bya blanket deposition.

In formation of the devices and in the methods described above, one ormore of bipolar, CMOS, Bi-CMOS, DMOS, SOI, trench technology or knownintegrated circuit fabrication steps may be employed.

In the devices and methods described above, the drift region maycomprise at least one of silicon, silicon carbide, diamond, galliumnitride and gallium arsenide.

Where provided, at least one of the insulating layers may comprise oneof silicon dioxide, nitride, diamond, aluminium oxide, aluminium nitrideand boron nitride.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 a is a schematic cross-sectional view of a prior art JI powerdiode;

FIG. 1 b is a schematic cross-sectional view of a prior art SOI powerdiode;

FIG. 2 a is a schematic perspective view of a first example of a deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 2 b is a schematic perspective view of a second example of a deviceaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of another example of adevice according to the present invention in which the potential linesare illustrated; and,

FIGS. 4 to 43 are schematic cross-sectional or perspective views offurther examples of devices according to the present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 a and 2 b, first and second examples of amembrane power semiconductor device 10 according to the presentinvention each have a semiconductor substrate 11 having a bottom surface12 that forms the main bottom surface of the device 10. A first thinlayer 13, which in these examples comprises a semiconductor layer 14, isformed on the substrate 11 and has a top surface 15 that forms the maintop surface 5 of the device 10. The original full extent of thesubstrate 11 is indicated in FIGS. 2 a and 2 b by dashed lines. Duringmanufacture, a portion 11′ of the substrate 11 below the thin layer 13is entirely removed up to the thin layer 13 in order to leave a regionof the thin layer 13 below which there is no substrate 11, this regionbeing referred to herein as a membrane 16 (shown within the dot anddashed lines). The remaining portions of the substrate 11 form supportlegs. The membrane 16 has a bottom surface 17. The active structure 18of the power device 10 (indicated by dotted lines) is in these exampleslocated entirely within the membrane 16. In the example of FIG. 2 a, theactive structure 18 is electrically isolated from other devices orcircuits by an isolation layer 19 formed within the membrane 16 betweenthe top surface 15 and the membrane bottom surface 17 such that theisolation layer 19 surrounds the active structure 18 of the power device10. In the example of FIG. 2 b, the isolation layer 19 is providedoutside the membrane 16 within the thin layer 13 such that it surroundsthe active structure 18 of the power device 10. In the examples of bothFIGS. 2 a and 2 b, the power device 10 contains a drift layer 20 that isplaced in the semiconductor layer 14 inside the first thin layer 13 andentirely within the membrane 16. The drift layer 20 supports highvoltages applied across the main terminals (not shown) of the powerdevice 10 whilst the power device 10 is off and blocks the voltageacross the main terminals. During such operating mode, the drift layer20 becomes partially or ideally completely depleted of mobile carriers.According to an embodiment of this invention, if the main terminals areplaced on the top surface 15 of the device and within the membrane 16,the equi-potential lines in a cross-section of the device along thedrift layer 20 are practically perpendicular to both the main topsurface 15 and the membrane bottom surface 17. According to anotherembodiment of this invention, if a first main terminal is placed on thesurface 15 and within the membrane 16 and a second main terminal isplaced adjacent to the bottom membrane and within the membrane 16, thepotential lines are practically parallel to both the top and bottomsurfaces 15,17.

It is preferred that the substrate portion 11′ be removed as the last orone of the last fabrication steps, and particularly after formation ofall or substantially all of the structures in and above the thin layer13 has been completed, so that the entire substrate 11 can support thewhole of the thin layer 13 during these fabrication steps.

It is worth pointing out here the differences in the two-dimensionalpotential distribution of prior art high voltage devices, such asconventional junction-isolation (JI) high voltage devices orSilicon-on-Insulator (SOI), and the membrane power devices according tothis invention. As can be seen in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, for theconventional devices, the potential lines are virtually perpendicular tothe top surface 5, but as they drop into the body of the device, theyalign to be parallel to the bottom substrate surface 4. Suchdistribution of the potential lines may lead to premature breakdown.FIGS. 3 a and 3 b show the two-dimensional distribution of the potentiallines in an example of a simple power device structure according to thepresent invention formed by one single high voltage junction. In theexample of FIG. 3 a, the main terminals 23 are placed on the top surface15 and the drift region 20 contains for simplicity only onesemiconductor layer which is more lowly doped than the p+ anode region21 and the n+ cathode region 22. This drift region 20 becomes completelydepleted during the voltage blocking mode and before the breakdownoccurs. Referring to FIG. 3 a in comparison with FIG. 1 a and FIG. 1 b,it can be seen that the potential lines are perpendicular or nearperpendicular to both the top surface 15 and the bottom surface 17 ofthe membrane 16, and substantially uniformly distributed from the anoderegion 21 to the cathode region 22 inside the drift region 20 such thatthe value of the breakdown voltage approaches its ideal limit. In theexample of FIG. 3 b, the main terminals 23 are on the top surface 15 andbottom surface 17 respectively such that the potential lines areparallel or near parallel to both the top surface 15 and the bottomsurface 17, and substantially uniformly distributed from the anoderegion 21 to the cathode region 22 inside the drift region 20 such thatthe breakdown voltage is ideal for a given thickness of the drift layer20.

The preferred embodiments of high voltage power devices according to thepresent invention also differ from the prior art devices in the way theisolation is achieved. The isolation in the preferred membrane powerdevices is realised vertically in a perfect manner through the absenceof substrate below the active structure 18 of the membrane power device10 and is achieved laterally through the use of an isolation layer 19which surrounds the active structure 18 of the power device 10.

Where provided, the isolation layer 19 may be in the form of a highlydoped semiconductor layer connected to a matched voltage so that all thejunctions associated with said isolation layer are reverse biased orzero biased. In this case, the isolation layer acts as an effectiveconduction barrier. FIGS. 4 a and 4 b each show an example of a membranepower device 10 having a p+ isolation layer 19 which extends from thetop surface 15 to the bottom membrane surface 17 and which surrounds theactive structure 18. The p+ isolation layer 19 is connected to ground,which in these examples is assumed to be the lowest potential availablein the power integrated circuit. In the example of FIG. 4 a, theisolation layer 19 is provided within the membrane 16. In the example ofFIG. 4 b, the isolation layer 19 is provided outside the membrane 16.

The isolation layer may alternatively be made of an insulating layersuch as silicon oxide and may be in the form of a trench or LOCOS layer.As a yet further alternative, the isolation can be made by trenchesfilled with a sandwich of oxide and polysilicon layers. Other insulationmaterials can also be used. Another alternative is to use air gaps(so-called “MESA” or “trench” isolation).

Several isolation layers 19 may be used within the same membrane 16 toseparate plural power devices 10 placed within the same membrane 16 orto separate bipolar or CMOS low voltage devices from the power devices10. Referring to FIG. 5 a, there is shown an example of four such powerdevices 10 placed within the same membrane 16 and isolated from eachother through isolation layers placed within the membrane 16. Referringto FIG. 5 b, there is shown a top view of an example of four powerdevices 10 placed on separate respective membranes 16 and isolated fromeach other through isolation layers 19 placed outside the membranes 16.Referring to FIG. 6 a, there is shown a schematic 2D cross-section of apower integrated circuit 40 which contains one membrane power device 10and CMOS and bipolar devices 41 placed outside the membrane 16.Alternatively, the CMOS and bipolar devices 41 can also be placed on themembrane 16 together with the power devices 10 as shown in FIG. 6 b oron different membranes 16 formed over the same original substrate 11 asshown in FIG. 6 c. The example of FIG. 6 d differs from the example ofFIG. 6 c in that the isolation layer 19 is placed outside the membranes16. It is evident that the use of the membranes 16 and isolation layers19 can provide a very effective electrical isolation between the powerdevices 10 and the low power circuits 41 as well as between adjacentpower devices 10.

Referring now to FIG. 7, considering that all of the terminals areplaced on the top surface 15 in this example, a layer 45 that iselectrically insulating but which has a relatively high thermalconductivity may be placed adjacent the bottom surface 17 of themembrane 16 to help remove a large fraction of the heat which otherwisemay be trapped inside the membrane 16 while the power device isoperational. In the preferred embodiment, this layer 45 is formed afterthe single back-side etching of the semiconductor substrate 11 iscarried out and may be in the form of a blanket deposition of adielectric material with high thermal conductivity. Such material may befor example based on diamond. Other materials, such as boron nitride,aluminium nitride, and aluminium oxide, can be used. As shown in FIG. 8,the insulating layer 45 may fill the entire gap in the substrate 11 leftby the membrane formation. In either case, a heat sink 46 may be inthermal contact with the insulating layer 45 to extract heat.

As shown in FIGS. 9 a and b, the first thin layer 13 may comprise a thininsulating layer 50, the bottom of which effectively forms the membranebottom surface 17, and at least one semiconductor layer 51 placed on topof the thin insulating layer 50, as known in for examplestate-of-the-art Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology. In this case, anSOI technology such as bonding wafer, SIMOX or Unibond may be used inthe fabrication of the power integrated circuits. Alternatively, siliconor diamond can be used. As one of the last steps of the high voltage SOIprocess, and as in the examples described above, the semiconductorsubstrate 11 below the buried insulating layer 50 may be partiallyremoved through conventional patterning by single back-side etching. Inthis example, the buried insulating layer 50 acts as an effective etchstop to form the membrane 16. Importantly, when the main terminals areplaced on the top surface 15 and within the membrane 16, the buriedinsulating layer 50 also helps achieve a uniform distribution of thepotential lines inside the drift layer 20 such that the breakdownvoltage of the membrane power device 10 will be close to its idealvalue. In the example of FIG. 9 a, the isolation layer 19 is placedwithin the membrane 16. In the example of FIG. 9 b, the isolation layer19 is provided outside the membrane 16.

Again, an insulating layer 45 with relatively high thermal conductivitymay be formed below the membrane 16 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 to helpremove the heat laterally to the substrate 11 and/or directly to anexternal heat sink 46. In the examples of FIGS. 10 a and 11 a, anisolation layer 19 is provided within the membrane 16 whereas in theexamples of FIGS. 10 b and 11 b, an isolation layer is provided outsidethe membrane 16.

In the example shown in FIG. 12, a further electrically insulating layer55 with enhanced mechanical properties is placed between the buriedinsulating layer 50 and the electrically insulating but thermallyconductive layer 45 in the region of the membrane 16 in order tostrengthen the structure of the membrane 16 and help minimise the riskof mechanical rupture of the membrane 16. This additional insulatinglayer may also help to compensate the overall mechanical stress in themembrane 16 and may also enhance the adhesion of the electricallyinsulating but thermally conductive layer 45 to the buried insulatinglayer 50. It will be appreciated that this mechanically strong layer 55can also be placed under the membrane 16 in any of the other examplesdescribed in this specification that do not have the buried insulatinglayer 50, such arrangement enhancing the electrical passivation and/ormechanical performance of the structure including particularly theresistance to rupture. Several such mechanically strong insulatinglayers can be deposited on the back side of the membrane 16 to increasethe thermal dissipation, passivate electrically and/or consolidatemechanically the membrane 16 and/or to act as buffer layers to achievegood adhesion between one layer and another. The insulating layers 21and buffer layer may be nitrides, oxides, amorphous materials orpolycrystalline materials.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 13 a to 13 c, when the main deviceterminals are placed on the top surface 15 and within the membrane 16,the first thin layer 13 in each case comprises two semiconductor layers60,61 of opposite conductivity type such that the drift region in thepower device 10 is now comprised of two semiconductor regions 60′,61′ ofopposite conductivity type placed above and in direct contact with eachother to form a semiconductor junction. The presence of these twosemiconductor regions 60′,61′ of different conductivity type and indirect contact can significantly increase the breakdown voltage of thedevice. This is due to the horizontal junction formed in the verticaldirection between the semiconductor layers 60,61 which facilitates thedepletion of the entire drift region at much lower voltage than thebreakdown voltage. This means that the drift region acts physically asan intrinsic layer during the voltage blocking mode and the potentiallines in a vertical cross-section of the device are perpendicular to thetop surface 15 and the membrane bottom surface 17 and more evenlydistributed along the drift region in the lateral direction. For thesestructures, the electric field is therefore practically uniform alongthe drift region in the lateral or x direction. If the electric fieldreaches its critical value, avalanche breakdown occurs. As the electricfield at this point is substantially uniform, the breakdown voltage,which is graphically represented by the area under the electric fieldcurve in the x direction between the main terminals of the device, is amaximum. It will be understood that the doping concentration and thethickness of the two semiconductor layers 60,61 each play an importantrole in obtaining the maximum breakdown voltage possible and arepreferably selected such that the entire drift region is depleted atrelatively low voltage compared to the rated breakdown voltage. Thechoice of doping concentration and thickness of the two semiconductorlayers 60,61 is also influenced by the type of power device employed andby the associated fabrication process.

The example shown in FIG. 13 b is of the SOI type having a silicon oxideinsulating layer 50. The example of FIG. 13 c is again of the SOI typehaving a silicon oxide insulating layer 50 and an electricallyinsulating but thermally conductive layer 45 deposited on the back sideof the insulating layer 50. It will be appreciated that an electricallyinsulating but thermally conductive layer can also be deposited on thebottom surface 17 of the membrane 16 of the JI example shown in FIG. 13a.

In the examples shown in 14 a to 14 c, which correspond generally to theexamples shown in FIGS. 13 a to 13 c, the drift region in each case isformed by several semiconductor layers of alternating conductivity typebuilt on top of each other in the y direction such that the entire driftregion becomes completely depleted at relatively low voltage compared tothe rated breakdown voltage. Again, it will be appreciated that anelectrically insulating but thermally conductive layer 45 can bedeposited on the bottom surface 17 of the membrane 16 of any of theseexamples.

In the example shown in FIG. 15, when again the main terminals areplaced on the top surface 15 within the membrane 16, the drift region ofthe membrane power device 10 comprises plural adjacent layers 70,71,72of alternating conductivity type arrayed in the third dimension z. Theseadjacent semiconductor regions in the z direction form transversesemiconductor junctions in the z direction such that the entire driftregion becomes completely depleted at relatively low voltage compared tothe rated breakdown voltage. The presence of the vertical junctionplanes in the z direction on the membrane 16 results in an evendistribution of the potential lines along the drift region in the xdirection, which increases the breakdown voltage to be close to theideal value. As in the examples described above, the potential lines ina vertical (x,y) cross-section of the device are perpendicular to thetop surface 15 and the membrane bottom surface 17 and are thus alignedto the y axis. The doping and the thickness of the adjacentsemiconductor layers 70,71,72 of different conductivity type areselected such that the drift region depletes entirely in the voltageblocking mode at relatively low voltage compared to the rated breakdownvoltage, thus increasing the breakdown voltage close to its ideal value.It will be understood that whilst three semiconductor layers 70,71,72are shown arrayed in the z direction, just two or more than three suchlayers may be employed. It will further be understood that anelectrically insulating but thermally conductive layer may be depositedon the bottom surface 17 of the membrane 16 in order to extract heatfrom the device 10.

In the example shown in FIG. 16, the drift region is formed by severalcells 80 of different conductivity type placed alternately to each otherto form at the top surface 15 and in the x,z plane regular patterns suchthat again the entire drift region becomes completely depleted duringthe voltage blocking mode so that the potential is distributed uniformlyacross the drift region. The cells of different conductivity type may beformed regularly as shown or irregularly (not shown) in the x,y plane.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 17 a to 17 c (which show respectively aJI device, a SOI device, and a SOI device having an electricallyinsulating but thermally conductive layer 45 applied to the back of themembrane 16), the substrate 11 is removed such that only a part of thedrift region 20 lies within the membrane 16. Thus, part of the driftregion 20 remains outside the membrane 16 (and is therefore positionedabove the remaining part of the substrate 11). The main terminals areplaced on the top surface 15 but, preferably, the high voltage terminalend of the drift region 20 is located within the membrane 16 whilst thelow voltage terminal end of the drift region 20 may remain outside themembrane 16. Again, it will be appreciated that an electricallyinsulating but thermally conductive layer 45 can be deposited on thebottom surface 17 of the membrane 16 of any of these examples.

In all of the examples described above and shown in FIGS. 2 to 17, thewalls of the substrate 11 are angled to the x,z plane of the lateraldevice. This is because the most common technique for back side etchingis wet anisotropic etching, which is typically performed using a KOHsolution. The silicon substrate 11 is a mono-crystal and the etchingrates of anisotropic etchants is dependent on the crystal orientation.The etch-stop planes are usually the (111) planes. Those devices of theSOI type that have the buried oxide layer have the advantage that theback side etch stops automatically at the buried oxide since the etch ofthe oxide is for many etchants (including KOH) much slower than that ofsilicon. Alternatively, for bulk silicon (i.e. non-SOI) devices, theback side etch can be controlled in time or electrochemically.

Instead of wet anisotropic etching, dry back side etching may be usedfor producing any of the membrane power devices according to the presentinvention. Dry back side etching has the advantage that the walls of thesubstrate 11 are vertical, as shown by way of example in FIGS. 18 and 18b. This means that the volume occupied by the gap in the substrate 11below the membrane 16 is no longer dependent on the thickness of thesubstrate 11 and thus a plurality of membranes 16 with reduced lateralspacing between them can be achieved in the same chip or integratedcircuit more easily. In the example of FIG. 18 a, the isolation layer 19is provided within the membrane 16 whereas in the example of FIG. 18 b,the isolation layer 19 is provided outside the membrane 16.

In the example shown in FIG. 19, the membrane 16 is formed by front sideetching (i.e. surface micro machining) of the substrate 11. In theexample shown, the substrate 11 is only partly removed below the activeregion 18 of the device 10 so as to leave a gap in the substrate 11below the active structure 18 which helps to increase the breakdowncapability of the device. FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of theexample of FIG. 19. FIG. 21 shows a SOI variant of the example of FIGS.19 and 20. As in all of the examples described above, the presence ofthe gap in the substrate 11 below the active region 18 (i.e. theformation of the membrane 16) means that the potential lines in thedrift region 20 are perpendicular to both the top surface 15 of thedevice and the bottom surface 17 of the membrane and are substantiallyuniformly distributed inside the drift region 20 such that the breakdownvoltage approaches its ideal limit.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 22 a and 22 b, which are respectively JIand SOI variants, the gap in the substrate 11 is formed only partiallyunder the drift region 20 such that only a part of the drift region 20is formed in the membrane 16. Again, the main terminals are placed onthe top surface 15 but preferably the high voltage terminal end of thedrift region 20 is placed within the membrane 16 whilst the low voltageterminal end may remain outside the membrane 16.

FIG. 23 a shows in detail an example of a membrane high voltage lateralDMOSFET (LDMOSFET) 10 according to the present invention in which thedrift region 20 is of n conductivity type, the source region 90 and thedrain region 91 are of n conductivity type and very well doped withdonor impurities to form a good ohmic contact, and the p well 92 is of pconductivity type. A conventional insulated gate formed by a thininsulated layer 93 and a polysilicon and/or metal layer 94 is placedabove the p well 92 and isolated from the source metal layer S by aninsulation layer 95. A thicker insulating layer 96, referred to as thefield oxide, may be present at the top of the drift layer 20 between theinsulated gate and the drain region. The polysilicon/metal layer 94 mayextend by a short distance above the field oxide 96. In the on-state,current flows between the drain terminal D which contacts the n+ drainregion 91 and the source terminal which contacts the n+ source region90. This current is controlled by the potential applied to the gateterminal G which contacts the insulated gate. When a higher potential isapplied to the gate terminal with respect to the source terminal, achannel of electrons is formed at the surface of the p well 92 under theinsulated gate which allows flow of electrons from the source region,through the channel, via the drift region 20 to the drain. The devicecan be turned on and off by applying an appropriate potential to thegate terminal. The high voltage LDMOSFET is placed on a membrane 16defined by the top surface 15 and the membrane bottom surface 17. Themembrane bottom surface 17 is situated in the y direction of the crosssection between the top surface 15 and the semiconductor substratesurface 12. The membrane 16 is therefore thin in comparison with thesemiconductor substrate 11 such that when the device operates in thevoltage blocking mode, the drift region 20 becomes completely depletedof mobile carriers and the potential lines are virtually perpendicularto the top surface 15 and the bottom membrane surface 17 as shown inFIG. 24. This is in contrast with prior art JI LDMOSFETs in which thedrift region is conventionally placed above a thick semiconductorsubstrate which in the off-state is not completely depleted andtherefore the potential lines bend from the initial vertical directionin the drift region to align with the horizontal direction (x axis)within the substrate. The advantage of the high voltage membraneLDMOSFET resides in higher breakdown voltage capacity, a more uniformdistribution of the potential lines at the surface and a betterisolation through the use of a vertical isolation layer 19 in themembrane 16. In this example, the isolation layer 19 is made of a highlydoped p+ layer and is connected to the source terminal. It should beunderstood that the device shown in FIG. 23 a may typically containseveral stripes/fingers/cells such that the device meets the currentlevel and power specifications. For a 600 V device, the drift regiondoping concentration may typically be 10¹⁶/cm³, the thickness of thedrift region 20 between 0.2 to 20 μm, and the length of the drift region30-50 μm. The doping of the drift region 20 need not be constant and canvary from the source end to the drain end. For example, at the sourceend the doping may be 8×10¹⁵/cm³ while increasing linearly to 3×10¹⁶/cm³at the drain end.

FIG. 23 b shows an SOI variant of the example of FIG. 23 a in which aninsulating layer 50 is placed at the bottom of the drift region 20 aspart of the membrane 16. This insulating layer 50 need not be thick asin the case of prior art SOI high voltage devices but may instead bevery thin since the potential in the voltage blocking mode (when thedevice is off) is not supported across it in the y direction (as in thecase of conventional SOI high voltage devices) but instead along it, inthe x direction. The isolation in this case is made by trench oxides 19but other types of isolations, such as p+ layer, may be used. FIG. 23 cshows a variation of the example of FIG. 23 b in which an electricallyinsulating layer 45 with a good thermal conductivity is placed below themembrane to facilitate the removal of heat to a heat sink 46 and thusavoid excessive self-heating. In this example, the isolation layer 19 isprovided outside the membrane 16.

Again, it will be appreciated that an electrically insulating butthermally conductive layer 45 can be deposited on the bottom surface 17of the membrane 16 of any of these examples.

FIGS. 25 a to 25 c show in detail examples of Lateral Insulated GateBipolar Transistor (LIGBT) membrane power devices in which bipolarcurrent conduction within the drift region 20 suspended on the membrane16 is employed and which correspond generally to the LDMOSFETs shown inFIGS. 23 a to 23 c. The main difference between the LIGBT membrane powerdevices and the LDMOSFET power devices shown in FIGS. 23 a to 23 c isthe use of a highly doped p-type hole injector layer 100 at the anode.Bipolar conduction in LIGBT type devices is characterised byconductivity modulation in the drift layer in order to reduce theon-state resistance. Again, it will be appreciated that an electricallyinsulating but thermally conductive layer 45 can be deposited on thebottom surface 17 of the membrane 16 of any of these examples.

FIG. 26 a is a schematic perspective view of an example of a membranedevice in the form of a power diode. For a 600 V power diode, the dopingconcentration of the n drift region 20 is in the range 3×10¹⁵ to10¹⁶/cm³ with a length of 30 to 50 μm. The thickness of the drift layer20 may be between 0.2 μm to 20 μm. The doping of the drift region 20need not be constant and can vary from the source end to the drain end.For example, at the source end the doping may be 8×10¹⁵/cm³ whileincreasing linearly to 3×10¹⁶/cm³ at the drain end. For simplicity, onlyone cell of the diode is shown. FIG. 26 b shows schematically an SOIversion of the power diode shown in FIG. 26 a in which an insulatinglayer 50 is formed underneath the drift region 20 which facilitates amore even distribution of the potential lines within the drift region 20and therefore increases the breakdown ability of the diode. In addition,the insulating layer 50 acts as a very good etch stop and hence it makesformation of the membrane 16 easier. To help remove the heat while thepower device is operational, a highly thermally conductive butelectrically insulating layer 45 (not shown) may again be placed ontothe back of the membrane 16 of the devices shown in FIGS. 26 a and 26 b.This layer 45 may be formed by sputtering or other ways of deposition asone of the last processing steps in the fabrication of the powerintegrated circuit as described above.

FIG. 27 a shows schematically an example of a membrane power diode whichcomprises a drift region 20 formed by two layers 100,101 of differentconductivity type n,p arranged vertically one on top of the other. Theselayers 100,101 may be formed by epitaxial growth or preferably byimplant of one layer 101 into the other 102. For a 600 V power diode,the doping concentration of the two semiconductor layers 101,102 formingthe drift region 20 may be between 10¹⁶ and 5×10¹⁶/cm³ with a length of30 to 40 μm. The thickness of the two semiconductor layers 101,102 isbetween 0.1 μm and 20 μm. If the top semiconductor layer 101 is formedby implant, then the doping concentration of the top layer 101 will behigher than that of the bottom semiconductor layer 102 and hence, inorder to maintain spatial charge equilibrium while the drift region 20is depleted, the thickness of the top layer 101 is preferably less thanthat of the bottom layer 102. FIG. 27 b shows schematically an SOIversion of the power diode shown in FIG. 27 a, whereby an insulatinglayer 50 is formed underneath the drift region 101,102. An additionalhighly thermally conductive but electrically insulating layer 45 (notshown) may again be placed under the membrane to facilitate the removalof heat, as described previously.

FIG. 28 a shows schematically an example of a 3D membrane power diode.The drift region of the 3D power diode is comprised of several pairs ofn,p regions 110,111 disposed in the x,z plane such that they formtransverse junctions in the z direction. The widths of these n,p layers110,111 may typically be between 0.2 μm and 5 μm, which represents asmall fraction of their typical length. This ensures that the driftregion 20 depletes faster in the z direction than in the x direction andtherefore behaves similarly to an intrinsic layer in the voltageblocking mode. For a 600V device, the length of the drift regions 20 (inthe x direction) may be approximately 30 μm. The doping of the n,pregions 110,111 may be between 10¹⁵/cm³ and 6×10¹⁶/cm³. Preferably, then,p regions 110,111 are formed by implanting one layer (e.g. an n layer)110 into the other layer (e.g. a p layer) 14. Therefore, the dopingconcentration of the implanted layer 110 is higher than that of thebackground layer 111 and hence to maintain the charge equilibrium, thewidth of the implanted layer 110 is preferably smaller than that of thebackground layer 111. FIG. 28 b shows schematically a SOI variant of theexample of FIG. 28 a. Again, in each case, an electrically insulatingbut thermally conductive layer 45 (not shown) may be deposited toextract heat.

FIG. 29 a shows schematically an example of a single gate membrane 3DLDMOSFET. The device employs the concept described above for the 3Dmembrane power diode to support a very high voltage between the sourceand drain terminals while in the voltage blocking mode, whereas in theconduction mode the device is similar to a conventional LDMOSFET and thedevice of FIG. 23 a. FIG. 29 b shows schematically a SOI variant of theexample of FIG. 28 a. Again, in each case, an electrically insulatingbut thermally conductive layer 45 (not shown) may be deposited toextract heat.

FIG. 30 shows schematically an example of a double gate membrane 3DLDMOSFET. The device again employs the concept described above for the3D membrane power diode to support a very high voltage between thesource and drain terminals. In the conduction mode, the device iscontrolled via both the n-channel and p-channel gates such that unipolarparallel conduction through the n and p stripes can occur. Bipolarconduction can also take place by injection of electrons into the pdrift layer and of holes into the n drift layer.

Referring now to FIG. 31, another example of a membrane powersemiconductor device 10 according to the present invention has asemiconductor substrate 11 and a thin layer 13 which comprises at leastone semiconductor layer 14 and has a top surface 15. The substrate 11has a bottom surface 12 that forms the main bottom surface of thedevice. During manufacture, a portion of the substrate 11 below the thinlayer 13 is removed up to the thin layer 13 to define a membrane 16 witha top surface 15 and a bottom surface 17. At least one main terminallayer 103 is attached to the bottom surface 17 and in contact with thesemiconductor layer 14. In a preferred embodiment, said terminal layer103 may be in the form of a metal layer deposited from the back side ofthe device 10 after the membrane 16 is formed by single sideback-etching. The metal layer 103 may extend from the membrane bottomsurface 17 to the main bottom surface 12 of the device 10 and ispreferably in contact with an external heat sink. The device comprisesat least one further main terminal 104 applied to the top surface 15, incontact with the semiconductor layer 14 and preferably within themembrane 16, such that in the on-state current conduction between themain top terminal 104 and the main bottom terminal 103 is substantiallyvertical and perpendicular to the top surface 15 and the membrane bottomsurface 17. The device may have a control terminal 105 placed on thesurface 15 to control the current between the main terminals 103,104.The power device 10 contains a drift layer 20 placed inside the firstthin layer 13, within the semiconductor layer 14. At least a portion ofthe drift layer 20 is placed within the membrane 16.

The drift layer 20 supports the high voltages applied across the mainterminals 103,104 whilst the power device 10 is off and blocks thevoltage across the main terminals 103 and 104. During such operatingmode, the drift layer 20 becomes partially or completely depleted ofmobile carriers and the equipotential lines in a cross-section of thedevice 10 are parallel with the top surface 15 and the membrane bottomsurface 17 and substantially uniformly distributed between the top endof the drift layer 20 and the bottom end of the drift layer 20.

The removal of the substrate 11 under part of the thin layer 13 resultsin a better trade-off between the on-state resistance and the breakdownperformance. The uniform distribution of the potential lines inside thedrift region in the membrane 16 results in ideal breakdown voltage for agiven thickness of the drift region 20. Because the substrate 11 isremoved under part of the thin layer 13, there is no substrate parasiticelectrical and thermal resistance and isolation (not shown) from otherdevices and circuits present in the chip is easier to make. The terminallayer 103 is preferably highly thermally conductive to help dissipationof heat from the membrane region 11 to an external heat sink (notshown).

FIG. 32 shows schematically an example of a membrane power device 10according to the present invention in which dry back-side etching isused to produce the membrane 16. The walls of the remaining portions ofthe substrate 11 are vertical as shown in FIG. 32. Following themembrane formation by dry etching, a terminal layer 103 is applied tothe membrane bottom surface 17 to form one of the main terminals of thedevice 10. As previously explained the dry etch has the advantage thatthe volume occupied by the gap in the substrate 11 is no longerdependent on the thickness of the substrate 11 and therefore the area ofthe membrane 16 is easier to control.

FIG. 33 shows a cross-section of the device 10 shown in FIG. 31. In thisexample, a termination region 106 of the device 10 is placed outside themembrane 16 whilst the active region 18 is placed within the membrane16. The termination region 106 is used in power devices to suppresspremature breakdown at the edge of the device 10 while the device blocksthe voltage between the main terminals. The termination region 106 doesnot play an active role in the on-state and hence substantially nocurrent conduction takes place in the termination region 106 duringon-state operation. To minimise the on-state resistance and powerlosses, it is desirable that the drift layer 20 is as thin as possible.However, to support a higher breakdown at the device edge and thus forceactual breakdown to occur in the active region, the termination region106 is preferred to be thicker. For this reason, the active region 18 isplaced inside the membrane 16 region whilst preferably the terminationregion 106 lies outside the membrane 16 on a thicker layer than themembrane 16. The termination 106 in this example benefits from having asubstrate 11 underneath which facilitates the spreading of the depletionregion in a wider volume while the device 10 blocks the high voltageacross the main terminals. The termination region 106 and the substrate11 may have a different doping than the drift layer 20 placed within theactive region 18. In a preferred embodiment, the substrate 11 is morelowly doped than the drift region 20. The termination region 106 can bein the form of highly doped floating rings (known per se) encircling theactive region 18 of the device 10 which help to spread the depletionregion on a larger area at the surface, each pair of rings withstandingin the space between them a fraction of the total voltage, therebyreducing the risk of edge premature breakdown. This termination, knownas floating ring termination, may comprise field plates andchannel/depletion stoppers. Alternatively, the termination may be in theknown form of junction termination extension (JTE) or field platetermination.

FIG. 34 shows in detail an example of a membrane vertical power MOSFETaccording to the present invention in which the active region 18contains a drift region 20 of n conductivity type placed within themembrane 16 with a termination region 106 placed outside the membraneregion 16. In this example, the termination region 106 is made ofseveral concentric floating highly doped p-type rings 107 and a finalhighly doped n-type depletion stopper ring 108. The power MOSFET hashighly doped n-type source 109 and drain 122 regions, an insulated gateformed by an insulating layer 121 and a polysilicon/metal layer 105which acts as a control terminal. The source terminal 104 is placed onthe top surface 15 and the drain terminal 103 is attached to themembrane bottom surface 17. The source terminal 104 contacts both thesource region 109 and the p well 120. The drain terminal 103 contactsthe highly doped n-type drain region 122. The operation of the MOSFET inthe on-state relies on the formation of an inversion layer at thesurface of the p well 120 when a gate voltage is applied to the controlterminal 105. In this mode, electrons are transported from the sourceregion 109 via the said inversion layer formed in the p well 120 throughthe drift region 20 to the drain region 122. To minimise the on-stateresistance, it is preferred that the drift region 20 is thin andrelatively more highly doped compared to the substrate 11. During theoff-state, when a high voltage is applied across the main terminals103,104, the drift region 20 is completely depleted of mobile carriersand supports the largest fraction of the voltage in the active area. Thepotential lines in the drift region 20 are parallel to the top surface15 and the membrane bottom surface 17 and ideally uniformly distributedinside the drift layer 20. In the termination region 106, the depletionregion has more room to spread inside the substrate 11, thereby avoidingcrowding of potential lines and premature breakdown at the edge of thedrift region. The substrate 11 may be more lowly doped than the surfaceof the termination region 106 and the drift region 20. It should benoted that there is substantially no on-state current conduction in thetermination region 106 and therefore the thick and relatively lowlydoped substrate 11 does not affect adversely the on-state resistance anddoes not add additional power losses as would have been otherwiseexpected if the substrate 11 had been present under the membrane 16. Itwill be understood that for simplicity, the internal structure of theMOSFET is only shown in two dimensions in FIG. 34.

FIG. 35 shows a schematic perspective view of a 3D membrane power device10 with a terminal 103 placed on the bottom 17 of the membrane 16. Thedrift region of the 3D membrane power device is comprised of severalpairs of n, p regions 110,111 disposed in the x,z plane such that theyform transverse junctions in the z direction. If the regions 110,111 arethinner in the z direction than in the y direction, the drift region 20depletes faster in the z direction than in the y direction when a highvoltage is applied across the main bottom terminal 103 and a top mainterminal (not shown) placed on the top surface 15. This ensures higherbreakdown ability and that the potential lines are parallel to the topsurface 15 and the bottom surface 17 and substantially uniformlydistributed across the drift region.

FIGS. 36 a to 36 c show schematically an example of a method offabricating a device 10 according to the present invention. In thisexample, the thin layer 13 comprises a semiconductor layer 14 underwhich is provided a buried insulating oxide layer 50 under which isprovided the substrate 11. As in the examples described above (forexample with reference to FIG. 9), the semiconductor substrate 11 belowthe buried insulating layer 50 is partially removed by back-side etchingwith the buried insulating layer 50 acting as an etch-stop to form themembrane 16, as shown in FIG. 36 a. In this example, as indicated inFIG. 36 b, the portion of the buried insulating layer 50 below themembrane portion of the semiconductor layer 14 is also then removed sothat the exposed bottom surface of the semiconductor layer 14 providesthe bottom surface 17 of the membrane 16. This removal of the buriedinsulating layer 50 in the region of the membrane 16 allows a terminallayer 103 to be deposited on the back-side of the device. As shown, inthis example, the bottom terminal layer 103 extends over the whole ofthe bottom surface 17 of the membrane 16 and down the inwardly facingsidewalls and under the bottom surfaces of the remaining leg portions ofthe substrate 11.

FIGS. 37 to 40 show schematically examples of a membrane power device 10with a terminal attached to the membrane bottom surface in an integratedcircuit containing low voltage/low power devices and circuits and otherpower devices.

FIG. 37 shows for example four membrane power devices each featuringindependent terminals with four main terminals 103 attached to thebottom of the membrane, and four main terminals 104 placed on the top ofthe membrane. Independent control terminals 105 can be used to controlthe operation of each individual power device. The power devices placedon the membrane 16 are isolated from each other through isolation layers19 as described in previous examples.

FIG. 38 a shows a schematic cross-section of a power integrated circuit40 which contains one membrane power device 10 with a main terminal 103applied to the bottom surface and low power CMOS and bipolar devices 41placed outside the membrane 16. Alternatively, the CMOS and bipolardevices 41 can also be placed within the membrane 16 as shown in FIG. 38b or on a separate membrane 16 formed over the same original substrate11 as shown in FIG. 38 c. Preferably the bottom terminal 103 does notextend under the low power devices and circuits. The example of FIG. 38d differs from that of FIG. 38 c in that the isolation layers 19 areplaced outside the membranes 16.

The structures shown schematically in FIGS. 39 a to 39 d are SOIcorespondents to those shown in FIGS. 38 a to 38 d. In these examples,the insulating layer 50 is used as an etch stop to form the membrane 16.The insulating layer 50 also helps to isolate individual devices placedwithin the thin layer 13 from the substrate 11.

FIGS. 40 a to 40 d show schematically possible ways to integrate morethan one membrane power device with independent main bottom terminals103 in the same power integrated circuit 40. In the example of FIG. 40a, two power devices 10 a and 10 b each having a respective bottom mainterminal 103 a,103 b are integrated on the same membrane 16. In theexample of FIG. 40 b, an insulating layer 50 is used to form themembrane 16 and help isolation of individual devices within the powerintegrated circuit 40. The example of FIG. 40 c differs from that ofFIG. 40 b in that the outer isolation layers 19 are placed outside themembrane 16. The inner isolation layer 19 in the example of FIG. 40 cwhich separates the first power device 10 a from the second power device10 b remains within the membrane 16 as also shown in the example of FIG.40 b. In the example of FIG. 40 d, the membrane power devices 10 a,10 bhaving independent bottom terminals 103 a,103 b respectively are placedon different membranes 16 a,16 b respectively formed above the sameoriginal substrate 11. To isolate the membrane power devices from eachother, a further membrane 16 c which may contain one isolation layer 19is formed above the original substrate 11 and placed between theadjacent membrane power devices 10 a,10 b.

FIGS. 41 a to 41 c show in more detail examples of a membrane verticalpower MOSFET. FIG. 41 a shows a membrane vertical power MOSFET accordingto an embodiment of the present invention using the known DMOStechnology. The power MOSFET has highly doped n-type source 109 anddrain 122 regions, an insulated gate formed by an insulating layer 121and a polysilicon/metal layer 105 which acts as a control terminal. Thesource terminal 104 is placed on the top surface 15 and the drainterminal 103 is attached to the membrane bottom surface 17. The sourceterminal 104 contacts both the source region 109 and the p well 120. Thedrain terminal 103 contacts the highly doped n-type drain region 122.The operation of the MOSFET in the on-state relies on the formation ofan inversion layer at the surface of the p well 120 when a gate voltageis applied on the control terminal 105. In this mode, electrons aretransported from the source region 109 via the said inversion layerformed in the p well 120 through the drift region 20 to the drain region122. During the off-state, when a high voltage is applied across themain terminals 103,104, the drift region 20 is completely depleted ofmobile carriers and supports the largest fraction of the voltage in theactive area. The potential lines in the drift region 20 are parallel tothe top surface 16 and the membrane bottom surface 17 and ideallyuniformly distributed inside the drift layer 20. The highly doped n-typedrain layer 122 may be a buried layer formed prior to the back-side etchwhich defines the membrane 16. In this way, the n-type layer 122 may beused as an indirect means to stop the back-etch using a knownelectrochemical technique. To facilitate the electrochemical etch, thesubstrate 11 may be of p-type doping to form a junction with the saidn-type layer 122.

The example of FIG. 41 b differs from the example of FIG. 41 a in thatthe highly doped n-type drain layer 122 is formed by masked or blanketback-side deposition after the membrane 16 is formed. The drain terminal103 is applied to the membrane bottom surface 17 after the membrane 16is formed and the n-type drain layer 122 is introduced in the membrane16 from the back-side of the device.

FIG. 41 c shows an example of a membrane vertical power MOSFET accordingto an embodiment of the present invention using trench technology. Thestructure in FIG. 41 c differs from that shown in FIG. 41 b in the waythe insulated gate is formed at the top of the structure. In thestructure of FIG. 41 c, the inversion layer in the 120 is formedvertically, substantially perpendicular to the top surface 15. Thisstructure has the advantage of enhanced channel density and higherpacking density.

FIGS. 42 a to 42 c show in detail examples of vertical Insulated GateBipolar Transistors (IGBT) membrane power devices in which bipolarconduction within the drift region 20 suspended on the membrane 16 isemployed and which generally correspond to the membrane vertical powerMOSFETs shown in FIGS. 41 a to 41 c. The main difference in the IGBTs isthe use of a highly doped p-type hole injector anode layer 123 incontact with the anode terminal 103. Bipolar conduction of the currentis substantially perpendicular to the top surface 15 and ischaracterised by conductivity modulation in the drift layer 20 to reducethe on-state voltage drop across the drift layer 20. The n-type bufferlayer 122 and the p-type anode layer 123 may be formed prior to theformation of the membrane 16 as shown in FIG. 42 a or after theformation of the membrane 16 as shown in FIG. 42 b. FIG. 42 c shows atrench variant of the membrane IGBT shown in FIG. 42 b. In FIG. 42 a,the anode layer 123 may be used directly or indirectly as an etch-stopto form the membrane 16.

FIGS. 43 a and b show examples of a power integrated circuit containingtwo vertical power MOSFETs 10 a,10 b using trench technology andsuspended on separate membranes 16 a,16 b. In the example of FIG. 43 a,the devices 10 a,10 b feature independent terminals and are isolatedfrom each other through the use of a third membrane 16 c and anisolation layer 19. The three membranes 16 a,16 b,16 c are formed in thesame step and in this example by use of a back-side dry etch whichresults in vertical walls for the remaining leg portions of thesubstrate 11 which, as previously described, are advantageous forobtaining a better control of the membrane area and integrating a largenumber of devices within the same chip. The example of FIG. 43 b is aSOI variant of the example of FIG. 43 a. The isolation layer 19 in thiscase is placed outside the membranes 16 a and 16 b and together with theburied dielectric layer 50 ensures an effective isolation of the twopower devices 10 a,10 b from each other. The examples in FIGS. 43 a and43 b show two membrane power MOSFETs integrated in the same chip, butany other membrane power devices can be used in a similar way andisolated from each other as shown in this figure.

Although the above examples refer primarily to silicon, the powermembrane devices of the present invention can be built on othersemiconductors, such as for example silicon carbide (SiC), diamond,GaAs, GaN or other III-V materials.

The drift region as part of the first thin layer 13 can be made of wideband gap materials, such as diamond, GaAs, GaN and SiC or can be made ofheterojunctions such as GaN and AlGaN combinations or other suitablematerials.

The insulating layer 50 is described primarily with reference to silicondioxide but other insulating or semi-insulating materials, such asdiamond, nitride or combinations of nitride and oxide, can be used.

The heat sink layer 45 can be made of diamond, aluminium nitride, boronnitride or other materials with good electrically insulating propertiesand high thermal conductivity.

Some examples of the thickness of the membrane 16 have already beengiven above. Generally, in a lateral device, the membrane 16 may have athickness in the range 0.1 μm to 10 μm or 20 μm or so. Generally, in avertical device, the membrane 16 may have a thickness in the range 6 μmor 10 μm to 60 μm or 100 μm or 180 μm or so.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described with particularreference to the examples illustrated. However, it will be appreciatedthat variations and modifications may be made to the examples describedwithin the scope of the present invention.

1. A lateral power semiconductor device having an active region thatincludes a drift region, at least a portion of the drift region beingprovided in a membrane having opposed top and bottom surfaces, the topsurface of the membrane having electrical terminals connected directlyor indirectly thereto to allow a voltage to be applied laterally acrossthe drift region, the device being constructed and arranged such that,when the device is an off-state and operating in a voltage-blockingmode, the equi-potential lines within said at least a portion of thedrift region are all substantially perpendicular to the top and bottomsurfaces of the membrane and are substantially uniformly distributedacross said at least a portion of the drift region so that the electricfield across said at least a portion of the drift region issubstantially uniform.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein onlypart of the drift region is provided in the membrane.
 3. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the whole of the drift region is providedin the membrane.
 4. A device according to claim 1, comprising at leastone isolation layer surrounding the drift region.
 5. A device accordingto claim 1, comprising at least one isolation layer surrounding thedrift region and provided outside the membrane.
 6. A device according toclaim 1, and further comprising at least one additional power devicehaving a drift region at least a portion of which is provided on saidmembrane or on a separate membrane.
 7. A device according to claim 1,and further comprising at least one low voltage device.
 8. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the membrane comprises a semiconductorlayer provided on an electrically insulating layer.
 9. A deviceaccording to claim 1, comprising a mechanically strong and electricallyinsulating layer provided under the membrane.
 10. A device according toclaim 1, wherein the drift region has a non-uniform doping profile. 11.A device according to claim 10, wherein the doping concentration of thedrift region at a high voltage terminal side of the device is relativelyhigh and the doping concentration of the drift region at a low voltageterminal side of the device is relatively low.
 12. A device according toclaim 10, wherein the doping concentration of the drift region varieslinearly from one side of the drift region to the other.
 13. A deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the drift region comprises at least twosemiconductor layers of alternating conductivity type arranged one abovethe other and in contact with each other.
 14. A device according toclaim 1, wherein the drift region comprises a plurality of laterallyadjacent semiconductor regions of alternating conductivity type.
 15. Adevice according to claim 1, comprising a termination region adjacent toand in contact with the drift region, said termination region beingprovided to reduce the effect of premature breakdown at the edge of thedrift region.
 16. A device according to claim 15, wherein at least aportion of the said termination region is placed inside the membrane.17. A device according to claim 15, wherein at least a portion of thesaid termination region is placed outside the membrane.